Send Your Kids Back To School With Transitions Adaptive Lenses

Summer is coming to an end and it’s time for kids to go back to school! Are you making sure your children’s eyes are fully protected from UV and harmful blue light? Below, Dr. Ryan Corte interviews optometrist and fellow Transitions® Change agent, Dr. Jennifer Lyerly, on children’s glasses and blue light protection!

For highlights from this interview, watch the video below!

If you don’t like the video or want more information, continue reading.

Dr. Corte: My name is Dr. Ryan Corte and I’m here with Dr. Jennifer Lyerly who is an optometrist, a fellow Transitions® Change agent, an outstanding blogger, and a social media expert. Today we’re gearing up and getting ready for back to school by giving parents insight on children’s blue light protection!

Harmful blue light is everywhere!

Dr. Corte: For parents who may not know, what exactly is harmful blue light?

Dr. Lyerly: Harmful blue light – you’ll often see it abbreviated as HEV when you’re reading articles or looking at it online. HEV means high energy visible light.

It’s a little bit different than UV light, which we think about in regards to sun damage. In both cases, you really can’t see harmful blue light or UV rays coming down (from the sun).

Dr. Corte: What are a few of the main indoor and outdoor sources of harmful blue light?

Dr. Lyerly: Overwhelmingly, the biggest, worst source of high energy harmful blue light is the SUN! Tablets, cell phones, TVs, computers, and LED lights are all sources of indoor blue light.

About 1 hour under direct LED light is the equivalent of about 15 minutes of sunlight. Therefore, the sun is far and away our biggest harmful source.

Dr. Lyerly: As kids, we don’t have any natural, built-in protection from UV light or from HEV blue light.

We know that it can cause quite a few changes to both how our eyes feel and potentially the health of our eyes. This includes eye fatigue and issues with light sensitivity.

There are also some studies that suggest it can be damaging in higher toxic amounts. In addition, there may even be a link with harmful blue light causing early-onset cataract and macular degeneration formation.

Blue light concerns have increased

Dr. Corte: It seems light harmful blue light has been around for awhile. Why should parents be concerned about it now?

Dr. Lyerly: You’re right! Harmful blue light has been around for as long as we’ve had the sun! What’s new and different is the device use that is so prevalent in our society now.

A recent study suggests that nearly 3 in 4 kids under the age of 18 are on devices at least 2 hours a day. We used to think while being indoors that our eyes were protected from harmful blue light. Now we’re exposed to it indoors too. This added exposure to blue light from device use is really what’s renewing and raising a lot of concerns and interest in blue light now.

Dr. Corte: What lens products do you recommend to protect children’s eyes from harmful blue light?

Dr. Lyerly: Think about a kid, their lifestyle. They’re not going to be switching back and forth between multiple pairs of glasses. Therefore, I want one lens that really does it all. I need it to have built-in UV protection and blue light protection. Also, I need it to have that clear lens visibility so they can wear it indoors.

When wearing Transitions®, their eyes are protected from blue light both indoors and out with the same pair of glasses that fully protects them from UV light. So we’ve got 1 pair of glasses that provide full coverage!

Dr. Corte: Dr. Lyerly, thank you so much for taking the time to chat about harmful blue light and the benefits of wearing Transitions® lenses.

For more information on harmful blue light and the benefits of Transitions®, click here.

Dr. Ryan Corte was born and raised in Novi, MI where he attended Novi High School. He graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nutritional Science in 2008. He also attended The Ohio State University College of Optometry where he graduated with a Doctor of Optometry degree in 2012.
Dr. Corte completed an Optometric Residency in Primary Care and Ocular Disease at the Illinois College of Optometry in 2013. During his residency, he obtained advanced clinical competency to practice optometry at the highest level as well as provided educational assistance and supervision of third and fourth year students as a clinical faculty member. He now practices just north of Charlotte, NC at Northlake Eye.
In addition to his clinical expertise, Dr. Corte has contributed to optometry through multiple leadership roles. He is a former Executive President of the American Optometric Student Association and is currently serving on the Young ODs and Membership committee of the North Carolina Optometric Society Optometric. He also was a senior journalist for NewGradOptometry.com and is a co-founder of CovalentCareers.com. Dr. Corte thrives on involvement and looks forward to remaining very active throughout his professional career.
Outside of work, he loves spending time with his wife, family and friends as well as continuing to stay active in his community and in life.